Chả Cá: grilled white fish, fragrant with tumeric, fish sauce, ginger and garlic, is tossed together with dill, spring onion and roasted peanuts. Jump to Recipe
Typing up this recipe takes my mind back to two separate occasions - one dusting off cobwebs in the far reaches of my memory, and another far more distinct afternoon just a couple of weeks ago. The former sparked my love of Vietnamese food. At age 13 (so yes, not aaallll that long ago but long enough that memories have begun to fray around the edges and merge with the many photos Mum took of us all), we went on a whirlwind two week trip to Vietnam, spending time in Hanoi, Hue, Hoi An, the Mekong Delta and Saigon. It was my first introduction to proper Vietnamese: the freshness, the abundance of herbs, the existence of Vietnamese mint, the nuances of sweet, sour, and salty that are so fundamental to the cuisine, the love of fish sauce, the daily markets in every town spilling over with piles of greenery and other produce, the sheer variety of dishes over the country….you get the picture.
Although I cannot remember eating Chả Cá Thăng Long (also known as Chả Cá Lã Vọng and Chả Cá Hà Nội, or just Chả Cá) during our time their, it is infamous in Hanoi. Grilled white fish, crispy edged and fragrant with tumeric, fish sauce, ginger and garlic, is tossed together with handfuls of dill, spring onion and roasted peanuts and served on a bed of rice vermicelli noodles. Herbs are scattered on last: mint, vietnamese mint and coriander, along with a decent splash of nuoc cham - a Vietnamese dipping sauce that brings the dish to life with its subtle notes of fish sauce, lime juice, sugar and a bit of heat from red chili.
The second occasion was in the holidays just been. One of my favourite days spent at home in the kitchen, I had started off the morning with lofty goals of what I wanted to create: first on the list was dessert. I had been battling with a rhubarb, raspberry and almond frangipane tart recipe off and on during the last 3 or 4 times I had made it and was determined that this was the day I would get it right - the pastry, the cooking time, the filling, everything. It was a Thursday so I was also in charge of dinner - stuck for ideas but wanting something light, quick, and healthy that everyone in the family would eat (I can’t get over that my brothers still don’t appreciate the amazingness of salmon or eggplant), I opted for this Chả Cá, deciding at the last minute to photograph it as well. Trying to make and photograph two dishes at once does not always end well (very rarely, in my case!) so it was with a bit of stress that I headed to the supermarket to get all final ingredients for dinner. By this point it was only a few hours away from the light fading enough to make photographs impossible (thanks to the NZ winter and 5pm sunset!).
Luck was on my side. It turned out to be one of those long afternoons where the minutes seem to stretch into hours, the sun pouring into through the window in amongst days of clouds and rain, keeping the light right for just that little bit longer. Nothing went wrong (probably a first, for me), and by the time the boys were all home from various tennis and swimming training sessions and Mum and Dad got home from work, the rhubarb tart had worked perfectly (no burnt pastry here, thank you very much!), I had trialled and photographed a small batch of chả cá during the afternoon which had turned out even better than I hoped, and I seemed to have overcome the evening weariness that often appears after a full-on day in the kitchen.
The rest of the chả cá was devoured that evening. Even the two youngest, who are can be iffy with fish, cleared their plates and asked for more. One of the best things about this dish is that it is super easy: marinate the fish ahead of time or just before you make, make the dipping sauce in five minutes, cook your noodles, sauté the fish, and you are ready to go. It doesn’t have to look perfect (my photos certainly don’t), you just throw it all together in a bowl and consume. AND it tastes amazing. Just try it.
A few notes regarding the recipe:
- Chả Cá is traditionally made with snakehead fish, but now more commonly made with catfish or another firm white fish. Here I used tarakihi, a white, mild fish which is very easy to cook. It is also relatively abundant in New Zealand waters so viewed as a reasonably sustainable fish to buy, particularly compared to other popular fish such as snapper which are in danger of being overfished both in New Zealand and Australia.
- Although traditionally served with Vietnamese shrimp paste sauce, in this rendition I have used the popular alternative of nuoc cham dipping sauce, simply because I was not convinced that my brothers (or anyone, for that matter) would handle the pungency of the former.
- To make the entire meal a little healthier, or just to round it off, you can serve it with some extra vegetables on the side - we used sauteed morning glory (also called water spinach) as it is used everywhere in Vietnam, but beans and broccoli would work just as well.
